I'm in debt....I can't pay my bill...but I own the credit card company...so lets just increase my limit...

I guess I should let everyone know that I tend to use three periods "..." when ever I stop to think about what I am typing...I don't know where it came from or how I started using it...but to me it gives a little emotional connection to a normally black and white field of emotionless letters and words strung together...I hope it makes you feel more like you are not just reading my blog...but I am in front of you thinking and speaking...

So our country is in debt.  Which automatically means that you are in debt...Do you know how much every man, woman and child would have to pay out of pocket right now to bring our debt to $0.00...any idea?...

At the time of this blog our debt is $14,562,345,234,234 (click the pretty blue numbers).....so according to the latest census every person (man, woman, child)  owes  $46,692...now that is for every person in the U.S...Now for every U.S TAXPAYER in the U.S.A (big difference) is $130,196...Yes...You...while you read this...owe $130,196 (for every non-taxpaying household member add another $130,196)...but you say...I didn't spend that...I didn't agree with the war...I didn't agree to give Pakistan $2 billion dollars this year! ($560 per person every year) I  didn't agree to give my money to some other countries citizens!

Obama increased the debt and the debt ceiling while the value of the dollar dropped and the amount of money the country brought in dropped....Bush did the same...If the problem is debt how does more debt solve it????

So as a person or family...if you are in debt...and your money is losing value and you are making less this year...just increase the amount of debt right?  What happened if you maxed out your debt...and there was NO WAY you could pay it back with the course you were going...would you cut back your spending? ...or...would the bank increase your available debt?  Why not?  Wouldn't it be nice...to be able to have as much debt as you would like...and never worry about paying it back!  Not only that...but you own the credit card company so when it came time to make payments...just don't...increase the debt...

Why doesn't this country realize the problem we are in?  Football lock out?  Basketball lock out? The latest celebrity scandal?  Slight of hand......LOOK HERE
...gone...

12 hours of Nationalism...My comments and questions regarding Bin Ladens Death

Where do I start?

“Patriotism is not a short frenzied burst of emotion, but the long and steady dedication of a lifetime.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

     
I originally was going to wait a few days for the patriotic fervor to die down before I wrote another blog.  It’s difficult to think rationally amidst all the emotions and all of the patriotism that has energized a country today.  Maybe I should use the word "Nationalism" instead of “Patriotism." There is a huge difference between the two.  I found myself holding my head a little higher as I watched the celebration in front of the White House.  This is 9 years of stress being released.  I imagine some people in the crowd were 18 years old.  Most of their memorable life has taken place from September 11th 2001 to the present date. They probably do not have very many memories before that terrible day.  I am glad to have many great memories before September 11th.  I am proud, as I imagine all Americans are, that we finally took down the head of Al Qaeda.  I also am glad to see the families that lost a loved one on 9/11 and families that lost loved ones during the "War on Terrorism" finally get some kind of closure although it will never be enough to fully close those wounds.

      With all of that being said it is important to not get entirely wrapped up in blind nationalism. When you get emotionally invested in something to the point of zeal it clouds your reasoning.  To me it’s important to remain rational because I believe it is the responsibility of the American Citizen to question.  I have so many questions. I would rather ask them sooner than later.  So here are some of my thoughts and questions from the last 12 hours.  It is not my intention to try to give you answers to my questions but to make you ponder the same questions I have pondered.....some may be answered...some may never be answered.

    
Why do we give Pakistan billions of dollars (I just heard 20.7 Billion since 9/11) when they obviously are not cooperating with the United States?  Why do we give ANY countries your tax dollars?  From what I have heard on the news the house/compound where Bin Laden was killed was six times bigger than any house within 90 miles.  The house was located a few blocks from the Pakistan Military Academy and within an hour of the capital of Pakistan.  Am I to believe that they didn't know he was there?

     

Is this a prelude to pulling out of Afghanistan?  I hope so.  I do not think we should be in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen or Libya.  It would be nice for my representatives in congress to actually discuss and then declare a war before sending my states troops and resources to another country.  I believe our Founding Fathers had the proper view on Foreign Policy: A humble foreign policy. No entangling alliances and free trade with all nations.  In regards to Afghanistan here ia a statment from the President of Afghanistan regarding the death of Osama Bin laden.

"Once again I call on NATO to say that the war on terror is not in Afghanistan. Osama was not in Afghanistan: they found him in Pakistan....The war on terror is not in Afghan villages, the war on terror is not in the houses of innocent Afghans, the war on terror is not in the bombardment and killing of Afghan children and women, but in the safe havens of terrorism outside Afghanistan." ~ Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Sounds like he wants the U.S and NATO out of Afghanistan and I think we should oblige.

      Why did we throw Osama Bin Laden's body over board into the ocean?  I know our government has been planning for this day for 9 years.  They had a plan for what we would do with Bin Laden if he was captured or killed. This is the best plan they could come up with?  Kill Bin Laden and throw him overboard.  I woke up in the morning in disbelief.  When I first heard of Bin Laden death my first thought was "I'll believe it when I see the body."  To my surprise they announced that we had his body. Then I wake up and hear we threw his body overboard to give him a "proper Muslim burial".  Why did he deserve a proper burial?  He didn't!  I understand they didn't want to give him a grave site so his followers had a "Holy Place" to visit their extremist leader.  The American people needed to and deserved to see him dead.  Remember when we caught Saddam Hussein?  We had video of US troops going into a hole and pulling him out.  We had pictures.  I am curious to see what comes out in the form of pictures and videos.

     

     Initial reports say that Bin Laden resisted and was shot in the head.  If there were twelve Navy Seals and they had Bin Laden cornered upstairs in the house could they not restrain him?  There is no way the Seals were intimidated or endangered by him at this point.  He is a scrawny and scared looking person.  He resisted and they shot him in the head.  This doesn't make sense at all.  Seals would have aimed center mass of the chest and they wouldn't have missed.  Did they shoot him in the face so it wasn't recognizable?  How did we have his DNA before this raid?  They keep mentioning DNA but have never said they have done a test.  All information says they judged his height and facial features and his wife ID'd him.   I would be ok if they came out and just said the mission was to kill Bin Laden and we did just that.  I really hate to say it but I do not believe the initial report given regarding the Seals had to shoot him in the face to stop his resisting.  I am sure we will hear a lot more about it in the next few days.  So maybe the real story will come out.

     
So what happens now?  Undoubtedly there will be retaliation of some sort in the near future. There are many groups that hate our foreign policy.  There are many groups that would like to harm us. Here is a quote by the leader of Hamas.  It’s important to understand the mentality and reasoning of people that want to do us harm. 

"We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior," Ismail Haniyeh told reporters, according to Reuters. "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood." ~Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh

     

     
The important part of that quote is "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood."   That is the reason why extremists hate us.  It is not because we are free...or that they are jealous of our lifestyle.  It is our foreign policy.  It’s because we have a military presence in 135 of the 195 countries of the world. (Those are just the ones that are known about)

     I know a little about a lot of things.  I also know a lot about a few things.  I do know this. The message of Freedom and Liberty is not best spread by bombs or bloodshed.



The Path of Freedom: What We the People have lost...

Throughout my blog I will provide links to the definitions of certain words that may not be fully understood. If you don't know what a word means please click the link.  I remember long before I started my political journey where I really didn't know the difference between a liberal and a libertarian.

Do you think you are Free?  Do you think you have Freedom?  If not...why not?  Freedom and Liberty are something that our Founding Fathers fully understood but very few people understand today.  To be honest, I do not fully understand the concepts of Freedom and Liberty.  I feel I have a fairly good grasp on the concepts but I am actively educating myself to understand them further.  If you do not understand Liberty you are not, nor can you be, free.  Furthermore, if you DO understand Liberty but do not exercise your unalienable rights you also are not free.

For example:  Do you have the right to have a basketball hoop on your property? Are you sure? Do you know your rights?  Please watch this short video.  We all think we have freedom. What if you don't know your rights?

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." Thomas Jefferson

I guess this is the video that prompted this blog.  If this was your property could you say definitively that this would not have happened to you?  What do you think would have happened if someone would have drove up to Monticello and tried to remove something from Thomas Jefferson's property?  I have a feeling things would have been different.  It is for reasons like this that we all must arm ourselves with the knowledge of Freedom and Liberty or we will never be free.  The path of freedom has grown over and Knowledge is the machete.

Does he (John McCafferty) have a right to his property?  Does the government have the right to come take his property?  The Constitution of the United States was written to limit the power of the government. The 4th Amendment protects a person’s property.

So what could have helped John McCafferty (the homeowner in the above video)?   A knowledge and understanding of his rights would have helped him but more importantly exercising those rights could have prevented the stealing of his property.  It could happen to you. Will you be ready?

 This is one of the first videos (below) I watched when I was educating myself on liberty. (Below)  "The Philosophy of Liberty" should be taught in every elementary school then expanded in middle school and in high school. Why isn't it? I have shared this with many people.  It is basic and straight to the point, which is why I like it. 

"Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction."
Thomas Jefferson

...Every Journey has a Begining...

What religion are you?  What political party do you adhere to?  What is your favorite sports team?  Most likely your religion, political beliefs and sports teams are the same ones as your parent's. This is true about a lot more things than just these three but this is a small pool that most of us can relate to.

So what does it take to change what you have been brought up believing?  Do you just wake up one day and decide...Ya know...today I'll be a Yankee's fan?  Probably not.  It’s my opinion that few things can bring about a change in your beliefs. Even fewer things can make permenent changes. Two things that can make changes in your beliefs are: 1) what is popular around you? and 2) Education. 

The first one doesn't really bring about a core change. It is temporary. What is popular around you? I saw many people who in the past did not even care about football become the biggest Saints fans two years ago during their historic season.  They never had a hat, jersey or knew of any player's names.  But when Saints Fever took over the region everyone was decked out in the latest gear. They were the biggest fans!  Why? It was popular and everyone was doing it. What happens once the Saints started to lose this year?  The same people went back into their shell.  Just because something it is popular in a certain place or time doesn't mean it will bring permanent change.  Where are all the anti-war supporters that rallied for Obama? 

The second is Education.  This is what started my journey.  I was a Republican. I was Lutheran. I was a Bears Fan, a White Sox Fan, a Bulls Fan and a Blackhawks fan.  Why?  Cause I was raised to be those things.  If I was raised somewhere else I could easily have been a Democrat, a Catholic and a Celtics Fan.
But I wasn't.  I am glad of where I came from, where I am and I am happy where I am going.

So how did my education bring me to where I am today?  For 18 years I lived in Valparaiso Indiana.  Then I went to college for 2 years. I joined the Army for 4 years during which I was deployed overseas. After my service was completed I received my Honorable Discharge, went back and graduated from college. It was during these 8 years, that I moved away from that tiny segment of the World, that I started my journey.  You cannot learn about life and the world if you limit yourself to 60 square miles. This is when my education really started.  This is when I started to ask questions and find out the answers for myself. Before that time I was just being brought up.  I was being raised with someone else's beliefs, my parents'. 

My political Journey started with George Bush Jr. I saw a republican not governing by the Republican Platform.  I saw a politician who would say one thing and then do another.  He was anti-war but then brought our country into a war unjustly.  Every President that I can remember has claimed to be anti-war and then turned to waging war. How did Obama win?  He promised "change" and an end to a war.  What was the result? Not change, more of the same thing. Not only did he not ended the war that he promised to end, he just started another undeclared and unjust war. Republicans are supposed to believe in a Free-market economy but why is all your money and my money being used that actually manipulate the "free-market". There are so many bureaucracies that not only waste our money but also drive prices higher for those that do not participate in the programs.

Having questions in my head regarding Bush Jr and the entire Republican Party I started educating myself.  I found myself politically homeless.  I looked into the Democratic Party and did not agree with their platform at all.  The Republican Party's platform which seemed good to me at one point now seemed worthless because there are no politicians that actually abided by it.  Say one thing...do another.  Then I was introduced to a certain politician who spoke on a different level than any politician I have ever heard. He didn't talk about the Republican Platform.  He didn't try to use emotions to get support.  What he did do was make many references to the only "platform" any politician should govern by...The Constitution of the United States. This document outlines the rules that We the People gave the government that allow them to govern us on a limited basis.

I am learning new things daily.  There is one thing that I am certain of.  We have come a long way from where our Fore Fathers intended us and our country to be.  The path of freedom that was carved by the blood of our ancestors has grown over and is barely visible.  This blog is my journey down that narrow overgrown path.